Haruhi's Apocalypse
by If You Say So.x
Summary: She was the only one left that cared – Tamaki had left with Éclair, Kyoya was suffering from depression, Mori and Honey had graduated, and the twins refused to speak to anyone else. It was truly an apocalypse of the Host Club, and Haruhi was left alone. She had to do something – there was no way in hell that she could go on like that anymore. Not a TamaHaru, the pairing's a secret.
1. Chapter 1

It's been one year, since the metaphorical end of the world. I remember it so clearly.

_From my seat in the middle of the room, I heard a car drive past. Kyoya took his ear away from the phone._

"_Tamaki!" he yelled disbelievingly. _

_Everyone had rushed to the window. Honey pressed his hands up against it._

"_Tama-chan!" he'd called out in despair._

_Kaoru hit the glass. "No way… The Ouran fair isn't even over yet!"_

_I just sat there, hands clasped together. I couldn't believe it – he was really leaving. He was leaving us all behind._

_Kyoya was panicking, I could tell. "My family's car should be in the parking lot." He turned to me. "Haruhi, let's go."_

_Kyoya dragged me away from my thoughts. At that moment, emotion took over – every feeling I had poured out of me in a way I would later regret._

"…_No."_

_Everyone turned to face me with a mixture of expressions._

"_What do you mean no?" Hikaru asked, his voice hard and cold._

"_I mean, no. I'm not going anywhere." I said slowly, fighting the lump in my throat._

"_Haruhi, don't be an idiot. If we don't leave now, he'll be gone." Kyoya shouted, making me shake. He'd never yelled like that before._

"_Yeah, so what…" I said quietly._

"_How… how can you even say that, Haru-chan?" Honey replied, blandly. "Don't you care that he's leaving?" Mori had just stared at me, his eyes pleading._

_I stood up quickly, knocking the chair over. "Can't you guys see it? The second he got in that car, he stopped caring about us. So why should I care about him?!" I screamed, my clenched fists shaking at my sides. Fresh tears pricked my eyes._

"_I can't believe you just said that…" Hikaru said, shaking his head in disgust._

_The hot tears trailed down my cheeks. "You guys… you don't understand at all!" I practically shrieked, before running from the club room, slamming the double doors, leaving the Hosts I'd come to care for so much behind._

_I remember running down the hall, throwing off the wig and heavy costume they'd adorned me with. I remember running past Kasonada, and Souga, and Renge. Each shouted my name, but I ignored them all._

_I just kept running. Running home, away from all the problems I'd left at the academy._

In that moment, my world had ended, because of my own stupid emotions. So from then on, I kept them locked away. And I sat there, watching, as everything I'd loved fell apart.

It's been a whole year, and I'd grown accustomed to the idea of never getting that life back. Until yesterday, when, like most regrets do, it all came back to haunt me.

I walked slowly down the corridors of my building, searching for somewhere, anywhere, to study. I readjusted my thickly-framed glasses, advanced algebra text book held firmly in my hand.

And then I heard the whispers – they weren't new, but each time they plagued my ears they stung me.

_Look, its Haruhi._

_When did he stop dressing so nicely? And his hair, it looks like he hasn't even brushed it._

_I know, it's such a shame. He used to be so cute…_

I furrowed my eyebrows, rubbing at one of my temples.

Ever since the incident, I'd reformed back to wearing my dad's oversized jumper, and my 'nerdy' glasses, as the twins had put it, much to my father's dismay. I didn't need to care for appearance anymore. The host club was finished, I was just an ordinary scholarship student again.

I continued walking, suffering through the whispers and judgmental gazes. I was used to it, it didn't matter.

Eventually I gave up on looking, and went back to my classroom, already well aware of what would be waiting for me.

As I entered the door, my eyes locked onto them – the twins, Hikaru, Kaoru… They'd become so distant from everyone after what happened. They'd been doing so much better with letting people in, and now it was completely wasted, they had shut everyone else out.

Hikaru was perched on the windowsill, playing on a game boy, with Kaoru leaning over his shoulder pointing at the screen.

Hikaru's gaze at the game never faltered, but Kaoru's attention did momentarily flicker to me. He just shook his head, then carried on whispering something to his twin.

I sighed, irritated, then collapsed into my seat at the very back of the class. It was at times like these that I really wanted someone indifferent to talk to, like Kyoya-senpai. But on the rare occasion that I'd seen him, he always looked so sad, like he was suffering from some kind of self-induced depression.

I had considered trying to speak with Honey and Mori, but it was too late by that point. They were gone – graduated – and I'd probably never see them again.

I laid my head on my desk, unable to think straight. And that's when the door had opened, and _she_ had walked in. Éclair. The person I had vowed to hate for all of my life.

She had strolled in, as though she belonged, wearing the girls uniform. She planted herself at my old desk, the one between the twins.

Something about that action really hurt. I'd gotten up from my seat, wary of the twins stares at me. I'd slammed my book down on her desk, earning the attention of everyone in the room.

"What are you doing here?" I'd snarled, glaring down at her through my glasses.

She'd laughed under her breath, and waved at me dismissively. "My, Fujioka, you sure have changed. I am here because my Tamaki wanted to come back to this awful country, heaven knows why, and I couldn't let him come alone."

The sarcasm in her voice irked me, but nothing pushed me over the edge more than seeing something glisten on her finger – a wedding ring.

I snapped, and had completely lost all control. I lashed out at her, slapping her clean across her smug face. I'd heard gasps behind me, but hadn't cared about it. The next thing I remembered was Hikaru and Kaoru, linking their arms through mine, dragging me away from the class room.

And then I'd been crying, clutching on to Hikaru's back as he held me, listening to Kaoru's voice as he tried to comfort me.

At first, I wasn't sure why I'd started to cry – most likely because of the fact that Tamaki had gone through with the marriage to _her_, but also because the part of me that had missed those auburn-headed devils felt so happy in that moment.

I missed everything, after a whole year of denial, I finally came to my senses. And I needed to get it all back.


	2. Chapter 2

"You two are idiots." I said quietly, hugging at my knees.

"You're an emotional wreck." They replied in perfect unison, sitting against the wall either side of me.

"I thought you hated me." I said slowly, each word feeling wrong as they formed.

"We thought you hated us." They replied solemnly.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "You never spoke to me."

"Because we thought you didn't want us too…" They whined.

I smiled to myself, clutching my knees tighter. "I've missed you both." I felt two thin arms drape around my shoulders, hugging me closely. Each twin rested their head onto mine.

"Yeah…" Hikaru said, almost inaudibly.

"… We've missed you too…" Kaoru added. I wiped another tear out of my eye.

The two brothers laughed slightly, rubbing their cheeks against my head, and I was acutely aware of Hikaru smelling my hair. "…Our favourite toy."

I sighed, scratching at my forehead. "You had to ruin the moment, didn't you?"

I looked around me, taking in the familiar sight of the abandoned music room. Apart from the occasional cobwebs and covered furniture, everything was the same.

I pulled myself to my feet, and walked over to the table I used to sit at usually. I ran one finger over the cloth it had been covered with, and saw it was coated in dust. Shaking my head, I pulled away the covering, tossed it onto the floor, and slumped down into my comfy chair.

The twins meandered over and joined me, leaning back against opposite sides of the table and staring at the ceiling.

"So, oh clever Haruhi…" Kaoru said.

"What's phase one of your wonderful plan?" Hikaru finished, adding extra emphasis to 'wonderful'.

I ran one hand through my hair, and stared out the window.

"If we are really going to get this club back on track…" I paused, and both twins turned to face me with anticipation.

I laughed under my breath, and nodded to myself.

"… we need our shadow king."

* * *

We walked into the school's third library room, and scanned the area. Over the crowds of smiling, chatty students, I saw the head of raven hair, and the glasses, and the black notebook.

I tightened my grip on the four or five magazines I held in my hands, and led the way for the twins, dodging in and out of various people.

When we made our way to the table he was sitting at, Kyoya's eyes never moved from the notebook he was writing in. It was as if he was refusing to acknowledge our presence.

I readjusted my glasses, and clicked my fingers. The twins saluted, and quickly proceeded to get three extra chairs and, finally, take Kyoya's notebook clean out of his hands.

His eyes didn't move at first, until he raised his stare to me. I perched down on the chair opposite his. He looked at me weirdly for a moment, before recognition flickered across his face.

"Haruhi… What _have_ you done to yourself…?"

I shook my head, and flung the several magazines I had with me at his face. They landed with a thud on the table, Kyoya rubbed angrily at the new red mark on his forehead, and then his eyes widened.

In front of him was a selection of the club's old photo-books, one for each host/host pair. He pushed his glasses up to the bridge of his nose.

"You three… what do you want?"

The twins put a hand down on the table, leaning over each side of Kyoya, the other hand on their hips.

"What we want…" Hikaru said.

"…is you, Kyoya-senpai." Kaoru said possessively.

Kyoya gave each of them a strange look, before turning his attention to me. He gave me a raised eyebrow.

"We want to open the Host Club again, and without you, that would never happen." I explained, aggravated by the slight smirk my words placed on his lips.

"Is that so?" he leered. "Now answer me this, Haruhi Fujioka. Why should _I_ help _you_? You are the reason the club fell apart, after all."

I rubbed at my temples – I saw that one coming. I sighed, exasperated, then prepared for one of the most important speeches of my life. "Okay, I messed up. I'm well aware of that. I've been aware of that for the past hellish year. But I-" I stopped, and gestured at the twins, "-we are ready to move on from it all. I need to put our old life back together, Kyoya."

He folded his arms, and started to study my face. "What brought this on, all of a sudden?"

My lips went dry, and my gaze fixated on the table. That's when the twins stepped in.

"I'm sure you are already aware, oh dearest Kyoya…" Kaoru began to explain.

"That Profiterole has shown her face at Ouran again." Hikaru stated.

I exhaled. "Not profiterole, Éclair."

He put his hands up in mock surrender. "Profiterole, Éclair, big difference. They're both creamy, fattening, and rot your teeth. Anyway, moving on…"

I noticed that Kyoya had suddenly become more interested.

I blinked at him. "You didn't know, did you?"

He looked at me vacantly, and shook his head. "My sensei informed me that Tamaki would be returning a few days ago, but he didn't mention anything about Éclair. I presumed he'd given up on her and was coming back to us."

It was my turn to shake my head. "Wrong. They got married – I think that the only reason she came into school before Tamaki did was to flaunt what she'd won."

Kyoya frowned. "She's attending school here now?"

I held his gaze steadily. "She's not going to leave him alone."

"And Tamaki's returned because…?"

I closed my eyes. "I'm as clueless as you are on that front… for once."

"Anyway -" Kaoru said, "Now that everyone's on the same page, Kyoya, are you going to help us or not?" he asked, both twins moving their heads close to his, poking his shoulders, chorusing 'Eh, Kyoya, eh Kyoya' over and over.

He moved his glasses again, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out his phone. He flipped it open, and hastily dialled a number.

Putting the phone to his ear, he made a gesture that told us to shut up.

"Ah, Mr Souh. It's been a while, indeed. I was wondering if we could arrange a meeting together at some point this week? The nature?" He paused, then smiled, almost evilly, "Why, the re-administration of the Host Club, of course."


	3. Chapter 3

I sat there, in the waiting room, squashed in between to equally nervous twins. Staring at the doors, I waited impatiently for Kyoya to emerge.

It had been about 30 minutes since his meeting with the school's chairman had begun, and now I was starting to get more than a little curious.

"Kaoru, your elbow is jabbing me." I said blandly.

"Oh, sorry." He said, moving over so he was crushed up against the very edge of the two-seater sofa. I rolled my eyes subtly. This is one of the many things that confuse me about the twins. Looking around, I clocked at least five more places to sit that would have been way more comfortable for them than sandwiching me between them.

I straightened out my blazer. After all this time, it felt weird wearing it again. But right. The twins had attacked me this morning, shuffled me into the prep room, forced me to change, and then mercilessly harassed my bedraggled hair, until I looked somewhat decent.

I pulled myself away from the auburn-haired devils, and made my way over to the window. I hovered by the window seat, staring out at the grounds. Watching students mill about, no cares or worries in their lives, made me feel comforted and distracted from the present situation.

Then a door handle clicked, and someone entered the waiting area from out in the hall. At first, I paid no attention. But I couldn't resist looking once I heard Kaoru's shock.

"No… way…" His voice sounded raw, as though their - whoever it was – presence had made him choke.

I turned my head slowly as though to be elusive. And what I saw shook me to my very core.

Tamaki. Only this wasn't the Tamaki I knew. Sure, his hair was still blonde, but it was messy. He was still tall, but his posture was hunched. And his eyes were that same colour, which I could never determine was blue or purple, but they seemed devoid of life.

Something was terribly wrong with him. He just wasn't _right._ He looked too thin, his skin was too pale, and his eyes were encircled in deep purples, as if he hadn't slept since the last time I'd seen him. And there, more out of place than anything else, on his finger sat a plain gold band.

His eyes locked onto mine, but I didn't say anything.

"H-Haruhi…" he said my name so delicately, as though the word would form and break in the air around him.

He was being too timid, not the whimsical, over dramatic, over protective senpai I'd missed. I didn't recognize this person… This was a stranger. Something foreign hiding in his body. I didn't…

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I asked.

Hikaru and Kaoru tensed, both clawing at the sofa cushions.

Tamaki's vision wavered, but was glued to the floor, as though something amazing had materialised out of nowhere.

"I… I see." He said, almost too quiet for me to hear. My heart ached - it screamed at me, telling me to speak to him, hug him, anything. Just to make some form of contact. My mind yelled over the noise, telling me to get away from him, to get away from the man that broke me so long ago. And like in most situations, my head won out.

The office door flung open, and Kyoya stepped out, his poker face still firmly in place. He looked at me, waving some kind of contract. But his arm dropped, along with his cheery business smile, when he realised who was in the room with us.

"Ah, Kyoya. It's… very good to see you." Tamaki murmured.

"The same to you, Souh." Kyoya uttered, obviously trying to hold something in. Turning and holding his free hand out to me, he continued. "Haruhi, shall we go? There's nothing else for us here."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Tamaki's lifeless gaze as I grabbed Kyoya's hand.

Kyoya pulled me up, and soon I had two arms tightly wrapped around my waist. The twins stood above me, defensive, trying to protect me from any kind of harm.

"Let's go." Hikaru said, his voice was rough – a mixture of shock, nerves, and anticipation.

I nodded, and then we were gone.

* * *

"So, what happened then?" I said, sipping my tea. The mist fogged up my glasses, and I was happy about that, because I didn't see the look Kyoya gave me.

"Are you going to ignore this?" he asked, his silver eyes digging holes into me.

I put the cup down. I looked around the club room, thinking of what to say. The twins had gone home - exhausted and stressed probably - leaving me and Kyoya alone.

"You saw what happened to me, didn't you." I stated more than asked. "I'm not trying to be melodramatic, but the second he drove off into the sunset with little Miss French, my soul shattered. Only recently has it started to heal, now that I've got you and the twins back."

I paused, but he didn't say anything. I linked my hands behind my head. "I won't cut him out forever, Kyoya, if that's what you want to hear. But for now, I have other priorities – things that need to be fixed before I address the hole he left, understood?"

Kyoya nodded, as though he could understand what I felt. He fiddled around in his brief case, and produced a new brown envelope. He pushed it over the table towards me.

Carefully opening the top, I pulled out the document from inside. It was Kyoya's proposal he had written and shown to me yesterday, only now it had a large red 'APPROVED' stamp over the top right corner.

I stood up, a large smile planted on my face. Slamming the paper down on the table, I launched for Kyoya. I engulfed him in a hug before reason had a chance to intrude. It felt uncomfortable, but strangely warm, hugging Kyoya. His body was frigid, not used to human contact.

He eventually placed his arms around me, patting his hands on my back. I sighed, and released him from my grip in time to catch a dissipating blush.

"I hope you realise what a wonderful man you are, Otori."

He smirked. "I hope you realise that you can never tell anyone that we just hugged." I raised an eyebrow at him, and he chuckled. "I have a reputation to uphold, Fujioka."

I nodded, and suddenly realised how easy it was for me to distort a situation. He made a motion telling me to sit again.

"Now, we do have one problem. We've been granted permission to re-open the club, yes, but we're short of three members."

My smile dwindled as my brain shifted into overdrive.


	4. Chapter 4

"_Have you come up with any possibilities yet?" Kyoya asked me, shuffling through several profiles of eligible Hosts._

_I smiled, and passed two over to him. "I think it's only right that we choose these."_

_He looked at the pieces of paper, and his eyes widened, before nodding and taking out his phone. "Before we ask them to join, however, I think we need to get permission first."_

_I stretched my arms. "I thought you would say that."_

* * *

"Haru-chan?" Honey said, blinking up at me with a look of complete shock.

"Hi, Honey-senpai." I said, smiling gently down at him. His eyes welled up, and he launched at me. Arms flung around my neck, he nuzzled his face into my shoulder, tears soaking through my school shirt.

"Okay, okay, take it easy!" I comforted him, patting my hands on his back. He eventually untangled himself from me, and returned to being his happy usual self.

"What are you doing here, Haru-chan? I haven't seen you since…" His smile dropped, and he cleared his throat. "Never mind, do you want to come in?"

I stared around at the expensively posh-looking building. No one would have guessed that it was a university dorm.

"Sure."

After weaving in and out of grand hallways and up several flights of stairs, we came to his apartment. I wasn't sure what to expect on the other side of the door, but for some reason a ten year old girl's room sprang to mind – pink, fluffy, and extra-cute.

I wasn't expecting it to look so normal. The walls were painted a pale blue, with matching furniture. Everything was simple, square; hardwood table and plush sofas. The only thing that stood out was a bright pink Usa-chan, placed on an arm chair.

Honey leapt onto it, wrapping Usa-chan in his arms. "Unfortunately Takashi isn't in right now, he has class, but is there anything I can help you with?"

I sat on the arm of the nearest sofa to him. "I want to talk to you about…"

* * *

Honey nodded. "I see."

Mori gave a slight "Mm." of agreement from out in the kitchenette. He'd just returned from general studies, and was making coffee for us all.

"So, are you guys okay with this?"

Honey beamed his winning smile at me, and it made my heart ache. I'd missed that cheeky grin. "Sure Haru-chan, I think joining the Host Club would be good for Chika. He's so tense, and needs to learn to relax a little!"

Mori came back in, passing a small pink mug to Honey and another to me. He placed his hand on my head and gave the smallest of smiles.

"The same goes for Satoshi." He said, voice as monotone as ever.

"Fantastic. Kyoya should inform them of err… my situation, but if you guys could fill them in beforehand, it would really help." I explained.

Mori nodded vaguely.

"Say Haru-chan, I've been wondering…" Honey said slowly, peering at me over the rim of his mug. "Why now – why re-open the club _now?_" he asked.

I sighed – I'd been expecting this. But I wasn't sure if I knew how to answer.

"He's back, isn't he?" Honey added, surprising me a bit. I'd forgotten how perceptive Honey was.

"Yeah, he is. But he's not alone." I replied soberly.

"Éclair." Mori stated, and I nodded.

Honey's face turned sour. "I hate her."

I put my mug down and made my way over to Honey's seat. He squished up and I sat down beside him. Honey rested his head on my shoulder, and I exhaled. "Yeah. Me too."

"Chika Haninozuka…"

"…And Satoshi Morinozuka…"

"… At your service, Miss Fujioka!" The two exclaimed together, bowing down.

I smiled. "You guys, there's no need to bow or anything. Welcome to the Host club!"

Chika slumped. "Why did I agree to do this…?"

Satoshi hit his cousin on his back before ruffling up his hair. "Because I wanted to do it! And that meant you had to as well." He grinned, and laughed at Chika's obvious discomfort.

It was hard to believe that these two were related to Honey and Mori – they were like polar opposites.

"Hey, Haruhi…" Kaoru whispered in my ear. "Are you sure about those two?"

I looked at him oddly. "Of course I am. Who better to take the positions than a Haninozuka and a Morinozuka? They're perfect."

"Will you quit messing with my hair?!" Chika yelled.

"Sorry. You're just so small – I can't help it!" Satoshi collapsed in a fit of laughter, before recoiling away out of sheer terror at Chika's death glare.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Okay, so maybe they're a bit ruff around the edges. But they'll improve; you can trust me on that one."

"Sure, sure." Kaoru replied, waving his hand about uninterestedly.

It was only then that I heard the music playing. A nostalgic yet up beat tune; beautiful and elegant. Despite my lack of rhythm, it made me want to dance. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, taking in the music.

Chika must have noticed this, because the next thing I knew, he was standing in front of me - bowing slightly and hand outstretched.

I blinked at him, before smiling to myself.

"Care to dance, Fujioka-chan?" he asked timidly.

I took his hand, and noticed Kaoru roll his eyes beside me. I nudged him with my free elbow before being whisked away.

He placed his hand on my waist, and I put mine on his shoulder, just as I had been taught. He led me around the club room, around tables and agitated-looking twins. Chika span me around, and for once in a very long time, I felt happy.

And I laughed – a proper laugh – which made my insides tingle with warmth.

Eventually the song ended, and he bowed to me again, before spinning me in the opposite direction that he walked off in.

I felt heat rise and fall in my cheeks, before straightening myself out and heading off towards Kyoya.

His fingers glided over the keyboard, but came to rest when I sat at his table. "Yes?"

"I was thinking, with the edition of Satoshi and Chika, and the twins hosting separately now, we have all the Hosts we need, right?"

"Yes, that is correct." Kyoya replied apathetically, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose.

"So my point is we need to sort out some kind of hierarchy, like the old one. And I think that you-" I paused, and gently poked his shoulder to make sure I had his full attention, " – you should be our new King."

He blinked at me with his calculating eyes.

I giggled. "It's time for our shadow lord to come out and play, Kyoya."


	5. Chapter 5

"_Please Kyoya; I need to speak to you."_

_Kyoya sighed heavily – this was getting old. "I've explained this many times now, Souh. You are of no interest to me anymore."_

_Tamaki's inexpressive voice crackled down the phone. "I knew you were cold, but I didn't think you were that heartless."_

"_Welcome to the real world." Kyoya replied, stoic. He was growing tired of the conversation._

"_Kyoya, I don't care if you want to hate me for the rest of our lives, but please. I need you to know why I-"_

"_Why you left, is that it? Well, do you know what? I don't want to know. You've caused enough damage as it is, Tamaki. Hell, you should have seen Haruhi. You literally broke her!"_

"_I… I didn't think-"_

"_No. No you didn't." He yelled down the phone. Kyoya was losing his cool, which was never good._

"_Please, let me speak, Kyoya."_

"_Goodbye, Souh. If we ever see each other again, please try not to make conversation." Kyoya clicked the 'END CALL' button, and then threw his phone at the wall, shattering it into pieces._

* * *

"Hey, Kyoya…" I asked him, resting my chin on my interlaced fingers. He looked at me warily over the top of his notebook.

"Yes?" he inquired half-heartedly.

"I've been thinking lately…"

"Dangerous." He said quietly, and I let out a short, humourless laugh.

"I'm about to confide something in you that I haven't even told the twins. Please just pay attention." I said menacingly. I could tell that if this conversation went wrong, it could set my emotions off again, which was really un-needed.

He regarded me for a moment, before snapping the book shut and turning his attention to me. "Of course, please continue Haruhi."

"I made it no secret – back then – of why I thought Tamaki left us. I thought he didn't care about us anymore." I paused, stringing words into meaningful sentences in my head. "I was accustomed to that after a while, but now I can't help but wonder, if that were the case, why has he come back?"

He looked thoughtful for a second before giving me a short nod. "That's a valid thought."

"So I was thinking, what if he left for another reason? What if he actually didn't want to go?"

Kyoya's expression went blank, and his shoulders stiffened. "I highly doubt that."

I looked into his pale eyes – he wasn't making it easy for me to read him. "How do you mean?"

"He wanted to go. I _know _he did. I know Tamaki always said how he wanted to make every girl happy, but I don't think he would have gone as far as to _marry_ a girl to see her smile – especially one as repulsive as Éclair." His voice rose gradually, and I knew I shouldn't have pressured this any further. But part of me couldn't resist.

"That's not what I meant, Kyoya." I said, shaking my head.

"Well what do you mean, huh Haruhi? You were there, weren't you? He left without looking back, without hesitation. What makes you think he may have been reluctant?"

I stood up, hands flat against the table. "Because I know our senpai! Think about it. Now I've had time to collect my thoughts, I've realized that Tamaki isn't the type to do something that serious without consideration, so I think there must have been a serious reason that pushed him into it."

Kyoya stood to meet my level. "Haruhi, we _know _the reason – he cared more about her than he did about us – you said that yourself, for goodness' sake!" his voice was shaky, but the undertone said that there was no reasoning with him.

"Maybe I was wrong." I said, childishly.

"Oh, please, don't give me tha-"

"No Kyoya," I interrupted, "I mean maybe I was wrong thinking you would understand what I'm getting at. Because you don't understand me at all, do you?"

His look of shock mirrored how I felt – where had that come from?

He sighed, and collapsed back into his chair. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have shouted at you like that. You were just expressing an opinion and I should have been more considerate."

I sat slowly back down in my own chair. "What he did… it hit you harder than anyone else realizes, didn't it?"

He lowered his head slightly, so that glare reflected off his glasses and covered his eyes. "I guess you could say that."

A slight _click_ sounded, and the double doors to the club room opened. Entered a set of twins, Chika, Satoshi, and…

Tamaki.


	6. Chapter 6

The tense atmosphere in the room had shifted and changed into pure awkwardness.

I was sitting on one of the sofas, sandwiched between the twins, a defensive Chika sitting cross-legged in front of me. Kyoya was sitting on a chair next to us, and Satoshi sat stiffly on the arm of the sofa.

In front of us was Tamaki, looking just as stressed by the situation as I felt. My attention snapped back to the conversation.

"I need to say something to you all. Something I should have said a while ago." Tamaki said slowly, carefully watching each of our faces.

"Where's Éclair?" Hikaru asked, obviously ignoring what he was saying.

"Ah, well, she's back at the estate. She somehow acquired a rather nasty bruise on he-"

"Haruhi punched her." Hikaru interrupted, and I rammed my elbow into his ribs. Now I was getting shocked stares from everyone, which didn't help me relax.

I exhaled. "Well, how would you have reacted in my situation?" They all nodded, and switched their attention back to Tamaki.

"Well, moving on," he said nervously, "I think I owe you all some form of explanation."

"Really, it took you a year to figure that out?" Kaoru said, shaking his head.

"Please, could you let me speak?" Tamaki pleaded, then continued without letting us answer. "I had my reasons for leaving with Éclair."

He sat back on a chair of his own, and I could practically see the cogs turning in his head as he thought what to say. "My grandmother told me that if I married Éclair, she would let me see my mother."

My eyes widened, along with everyone else's (except Satoshi and Chika, who were exchanging confused looks). There was an awkward silence, until Kyoya stood from his chair.

"You idiot... Why didn't you just tell us that before you left?" He yelled at the blonde boy.

"I wanted to save you all the explanation. I thought it would be easier for you to take." Tamaki replied timidly.

"You thought that just leaving was better than giving us a reason? Are you _that _stupid?" Hikaru spoke up.

"Yeah, tono, you have no idea what you did to Haruhi." Kaoru added, nodding his head.

Tamaki's large eyes slowly turned to look at me, and I started to blush slightly. "Guys, stop it. You know how much his mother means to Tamaki-senpai. I would have done the same. Now let him finish talking."

He smiled at me, and it made my chest ache. Tamaki cleared his throat, stood up and paced, then continued talking. "The deal was I would marry Éclair, and only then would I see my mother. The problem was, after the eight months it took before the wedding took place-"

"-which we were never invited to, may I add." Hikaru huffed. Honestly, that boy could be so insensitive.

"- after we were married it turned out my mother had passed away from cancer only the month before."

As soon as he said that, his eyes turned lifeless again. And in that second, all my negative feelings towards him evaporated. I got up from my seat and cautiously stepped over Chika. I walked round the coffee table until I was standing right in front of him.

"So is that why you look so different? The news hit you that badly…" I whispered, and he nodded. I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested my chin on his chest.

He didn't do anything for a moment, and then placed his arms round my shoulders. I sighed, breathing out the last of my worries. "Welcome back, senpai."

A door slammed loudly from behind us.

"Hikaru!" I heard Kaoru call out, before he ran out of the room as well.

I felt Tamaki sigh. "I guess he's not taking all of this well."

I let go of my senpai. "None of us did. You hurt us, senpai, and you'll have to make it up to us." I said calmly. He nodded. "I'm sorry about your mother." Again, he nodded.

Kyoya exhaled, irritated. "I guess this means I'll have to give up position as King, correct?"

The Hitachiins skipped school today. I guessed that Hikaru needed some cool-down time to think, and Kaoru – being the perfect brother – stayed with him.

I looked up at the clock. Lesson would be finishing in 5, 4, 3, 2…

The bell sounded, and I quickly grabbed my bag and walked out the class room. Running down the halls, I finally made it to the club room. Inside was Tamaki, giving Satoshi tips on how to be a gentleman, just like he'd done for me. Kyoya was observing everything intently, making notes.

I scanned the area, and realized that Chika wasn't here.

A tap on my shoulder came from the devil, himself. I smiled up at him – even though he was short for a guy, he still managed to be taller than me. "Hi Chika, is everything okay?"

"Yes, thank you, Fujioka-chan. Can I talk to you out in the hall for a minute?" he said seriously.

My smile faded. "Oh… sure. One second." I chucked my bag onto the nearest sofa, and followed Chika outside into the hall.

"Haruhi, are you in love with Tamaki?" He said, eyeing me closely.

"Why…" I said.

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Do you?"

"No, no, of course not. I could never see him like that. I'd never admit this in front of him, but Tamaki-senpai's more like a father to me."

"Oh." He said. "What about the twins?"

My answer was instant. "No way. We're close, but not that close." Something in my voice sounded uncertain.

"Well, what about Kyoya? It's obvious that there's chemistry between you." He said casually.

"Look, no, Chika. There's nothing between me and any of the guys." I said, with an air of finality.

He smiled at me. "Well, in that case, would you be willing to go on a date with me Saturday night?"

All I managed to say was an utterly intelligent "WHA-…"


	7. Chapter 7

I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock – 8. Another 8 hours until I'll be picked up. 8 hours to get my chores done, study, write my essay for Monday, make dinner for my dad, get changed, and then go out to dinner with Chika.

Normally, I could do anything on my own – I was used to that. But this time, I needed help.

I fumbled around for my little red cell phone the twins had given me, and pressed 'Speed Dial 1'. The answer was almost immediate, despite it being so early.

"Hey." I said lazily. "Do you think you could come over to mine in… I don't know, 30 minutes?" I smiled, practically seeing them salute through the phone. "Great, just don't barge in, I could be changing."

I clicked the 'end call' button, and threw off my covers. A quick shower left me with 20 minutes. I rushed to dry off my hair and rummage about for some jeans and a t-shirt.

_I'll change into something nicer later._

The doorbell rang, exactly thirty minutes after the conversation had ended, which didn't really surprise me.

"Door's open!" I called out, as two sleepy-looking twins tottered in.

"Hey Haruhi-" said Hikaru, throwing an arm around one shoulder.

"-Why do you want us over here?" asked Kaoru, mimicking his brother.

"Have you realized how much you love us?" They said in perfect unison, smiling evilly down at their toy.

"Hardly." I muttered, shuffling out of their embrace. "I see you're feeling better Hikaru."

"Yeah, I know, I over-reacted. I need to apologise to Tono, blah blah blah. Kaoru already explained all that to me." He replied, shaking his hand at me.

"So, anyway, why are we here?" Kaoru asked, sending a sideward glare at his twin.

"I'm recruiting you for the day." I said, matter-of-factly. "I need you guys to do some chores for me while I write my essay for History."

The twin's curious expressions immediately changed into disinterest. "And why would we do that?" They whined.

"If you clean the apartment and make an _edible _dinner for my dad, I'll let you guys stay over next weekend." I said, grinning. The second the words came out of my mouth, I knew I had them.

The twins blinked at each other, before running all over the apartment, shouting things such as 'Where's the mop?' and 'So, what kind of food does your dad like?'

I laughed on the inside, then sat down with my laptop.

5 hours later, the twins collapsed next to me, thoroughly exhausted. Looking around, the walls almost sparkled. The smell of freshly-cooked pasta wafted from out in the kitchen.

"Thanks guys." I said, as I rounded off the last sentence of my newly written 6000 word essay on the fall of Rome.

"Say Haruhi, I thought something like this would be a walk in the park for you." Kaoru said, regarding me.

I closed my laptop and shoved it back on the table. "Well, it would be. But I need extra time today."

"Why's that?" Hikaru asked, curious. Now I'd done it.

"Oh, err, no reason that would interest you." I said, beaming at them awkwardly.

"You're a terrible liar, Haruhi." They said, standing up, mischief gleaming in their eyes.

I backed out of the small living area, the twins close in front of me. Their smirks would scare the bejeezus out of anyone.

I held my hands up in surrender. "Really, guys, I know you wouldn-"

They tackled me to the floor before I could finish, and tickled my sides, chorusing 'tell us, tell us, tell us' over and over.

I burst out laughing, tears streaming down my cheeks. I was ticklish, and they knew that.

"Okay! Okay, I give in!" I shouted. They smiled triumphantly, and pulled me to my feet.

"Spill." They stated forcefully.

"In about 2 and a half hours, I'm going out to dinner." I said, trying to avoid the question they would obviously ask.

"Who with?" There it was. I sighed.

"Chika."

Their eyes widened, and I saw Hikaru twitch.

"Honey's little brother…" he whispered.

"…like, on a date?" Kaoru asked.

I paused and thought for a second. "Yeah, I guess you could call it that."

"When did this happen?" Hikaru asked, running one hand through his hair. I shrugged.

"Yesterday, at lunch. He asked me if I was involved with anyone, I said no, and he asked me to dinner. Simple as that."

"And you just said yes, without even asking us first?!" Hikaru yelled.

That caught me off-guard. "And why would I need to do that?"

"Listen Haruhi. You don't need anyone else, you have _us. _Why can't we be enough?!" He exclaimed, eyes watering, before running out of my apartment.

"Hikar-!" Kaoru shouted.

"Kaoru." I said quietly. "Tell him… tell him that I don't need his permission. It's my life. But that he's one of my closest friends, and he'll always be enough."

He looked at me doubtfully.

"Please..?"

He sighed, nodded, then ran out.

* * *

I looked at myself in the bathroom mirror. I was wearing one of the dresses the twins had unloaded on me ages ago – deep purple, a tightly-fitting long sleeve jumper dress, falling to just above my knee. A pair of black flats on my feet, and my dad had virtually super-glued a small purple bow in my hair.

I looked half-decent. Reaching into my little black shoulder bag, I pulled out my phone. 10 minutes until he gets here. I opened up my inbox and sent a quick message to Kaoru.

_How is he?_

The answer was quick.

_Gd, lettin his emotions go OTT. Again, LOL. Have fun 2nite. X_

I smiled.

_Will do. Over and out._

I walked out of the bathroom to see my dad sitting to attention outside the door, a bowl of spaghetti in one hand, the other shoving forkfuls into his mouth.

He stopped chewing and looked up at me. He swallowed, and leapt to his feet, encircling me in his arms.

"HARUHI~! OH, you look absolutely _precious_. My precious." He said possessively.

My face was smushed against his chest, but I managed to speak. "Dad, stop it. You sound like Golem from _Lord of The Rings."_

"Oh." He said, as if he only just realized he'd been hugging me. He put me down less-than-gracefully just as there was a knock on the door.

I opened it, and there stood Chika, dressed in jeans and a smart black dress shirt. He blushed a bit, and I did the same.

"Hey. Ready to go?" He said, holding a hand out to me.

I nodded, and reached for his hand, but my dad cut in front of me.

"I don't think I know this one. Haruhi, who is this boy?"

"I'm Chika Haninozuka, Mr Fujioka, Mitsukuni's younger brother. And please don't worry. I will treat your daughter with nothing but the utmost respect." He said, formally bowing to my dad.

His protective-dad voice disappeared. "Oh _my, _now that you mention it I do see the resemblance. Oh you are just so adorable! Well done, Haruhi, well done!" He said, clapping and twirling off towards his room.

I sighed, then snaked my arm through Chika's offered elbow. "Let's go, before he comes back with the camera."

He laughed softly, before tugging me down the metal stairs and into the waiting limo.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N; um, wow, this is getting more popular than I expected. Thanks so much guys for all the support. And yeah, I do update regularly for those who have been asking. I have 5 other stories on the go as well, so even though I update every day, it may be on another story. Anyway, I guess it's pretty obvious by this point, that this is a ChikaHaru. I just thought about experimenting with it, because there's not that many about. Anyway, enjoy the chapter. Surprise towards the end to keep you guys on your toes. Love, the queen of cliff-hangers.**

"Don't you think this is a bit much, Chika?" I said, awestruck. Looking around me, I took in the beautifully decorated private suite, pale pink roses over-flowing from glasses all around the room. Candles were lit in little bunches, one of every colour. In the right corner was a small white piano, where a musician was playing a gentle piece. In the middle of everything was a simple table, which seemed too out-of-place.

Chika looked just as amazed as I did. "The idiot." I heard him grumble, and I sent him a questioning look.

He shook his head. "Why… why did I agree to let him decorate?" He asked, voice gruff with anger.

"Honey-senpai?" I said, trying hard not to laugh. Looking around again, I knew my suspicion was correct. The bright colours practically screamed out 'Honey'.

Chika walked swiftly over to the table, pulled out a chair, and gestured for me to sit. I smiled and sat down, feeling something warm stir inside. _He's sweeter than the others. He treats me like a lady, not like a toy or a pawn or some kind of delusional child._

I took the menu and let my eyes flicker over the extensive list of dishes. I strained to stop my mouth from watering. Eventually my eyes settled on the glazed tuna – predictable, but I couldn't help it.

The waitress came and took our orders, then I relaxed a little, taking a sip of the ice cold water I'd poured myself.

"So, Chika, why did you ask me out?" I asked. The question had been plaguing me for too long.

"No reason in particular. I guess I just wanted to see what your reaction would be. I didn't actually think you would say yes. Especially after what the twins had told me about you."

I winced. "And what was that exactly?"

"That you were slightly dense when it came to this sought of thing. That you were always brutally harsh and honest about what was on your mind. Stuff like that." He said, apathetically.

I let out a small humourless laugh. "Remind me to hurt them later."

He laughed. "Will do."

"Oh my. Terribly sorry, I appear to have wandered into the wrong room."

_Crash._ I dropped the glass to the floor at the sound of Éclair's voice. My expression sobered completely. I turned my head slowly, and sure enough standing in the doorway was the smug-looking bitch herself.

She tutted. "Honestly, Fujioka. You're such a cluts."

Chika stood up from his chair. "Is this…"

I nodded solemnly. She sighed. "Tamaki, dear, this isn't the right room. It's far too tacky, and full of rodents." She called somewhere down the hall.

I shoved my chair back and stormed over to her. Now that I was closer, I noticed the large bump my right-hook had given her.

"I would slap you again, but I've already left my calling card. You make me sick, and Chika has very graciously taken me out for dinner, so I wouldn't want to waste the food he's bought for me. So, if you please, get the hell out of my site. That vulgar perfume you're wearing is making my eyes water." I said, my voice even and patronizing.

She seemed to be taken aback, but smiled at me and tottered off down the hall. I watched her walk away, a sneer planted on my face.

My eyes locked on to Tamaki, who was staring at me incredulously. I shook my head him, and walked back into the private suite, slamming the door behind me.

I sank back against it, and tried to gulp back the tears that were forming in my eyes. Chika ran over to me, and he crouched down over me, pulling me into an awkward embrace.

I dug my fingers into his back, feeling wet paths trail down my cheeks.

His voice whispered hoarsely into my ear. "She's the one… the one that ruined your life, right?"

I nodded, gripping tightly onto his shirt.

"She's the one that's completely messed with your head?"

Again, I nodded.

"In that case, I'll kill her."

I nuzzled my head into the crook of his neck. I knew he was just trying to make me feel better, but there was something in his voice that sounded too sombre.

* * *

When I got home, it was gone 10. My dad had left for his shift at the tranny bar, so I was left home alone. Something I really didn't need.

I collapsed back on my futon, kicking off my shoes and pulling the bow out my hair. I felt more tears attacking my eyes, and before I could control myself they were coming down in torrents.

I shrugged off the dress, pulled on the nearest t-shirt I could grab, and gripped onto my hair.

I sank slowly to the fall, rocking back and forth, feeling so many tears pour down my face.

"This is ridiculous." I whimpered. "Why am I even crying… Everything's turning out so well now…"

I cradled my knees, then looked around for my bag. I rummaged around for my phone and flicked the screen open.

I needed to talk to someone… someone who was completely unaware of the situation, who wouldn't mind me unloading a year's worth of stress and anxiety and angst onto them. Someone who would willingly listen and not interject. I needed…

And then I knew who to call.

I dialled the number, and sat there, curled up in the corner of my room, cursing every time the phone rang.

_Ring._

_Please pick up…_

_Ring._

_Please…_

_Ring._

_Answer the bloody phone…_

"…Haruhi?" his voice sounded tired down the phone.

"Did I wake you up?" I asked, instantly feeling guilty and embarrassed.

"No, its fine… is everything okay?"

"Actually no, I need to talk to you." I said soberly.

He suddenly sounded more awake. "Now?"

"Yeah…"

"I'm putting on my coat. I'll be at your place in 10 minutes."

I sighed, releasing some of the tension in my shoulders. I wiped away at my cheeks.

"Thanks, Arai."


	9. Chapter 9

"So basically, your life was completely wrecked. And even though you're putting pieces back together, it feels like nothings changing."

I sighed. "Pretty much."

"Haruhi…" Arai whispered. I leaned into him, and he stroked my hair comfortingly. Not like the sexual harassment the twins gave me.

"Sure, the club's up and running again. We officially open for business on Monday. But even though everyone's acting like it's all going to work out, I know that there are some things that won't ever fully heal." Images of Kyoya yelling at Tamaki and Hikaru bursting out at me flashed through my mind. "Even if I try my hardest to glue things together."

"Haruhi, if there's one thing I know about you, it's that when you put effort in to something, it always turns out perfect." He said emphatically.

"I don't know about that."

Arai furrowed his eyebrows. "You're just as stubborn as you were in middle school."

I laughed. "Some things never change."

* * *

Kyoya had spent most of Sunday sending out invitations to all of the Host Club's former guests informing them of today's grand re-opening, and about our two new hosts. With Tamaki back, the twins went back to hosting together, which I could tell they were happy about.

15 minutes until the doors opened. Everyone was rushing about in the music room, making sure that everything was in place. Flowers of various colours were dotted around the room. Our latest Ginori tea sets were ready and waiting. A large selection of sweets waited in the store room for our hungry guests.

Tamaki arrived late, babbling something about Éclair begging him not to go. I'd rolled my eyes, then carried on instructing Satoshi on which topics were and weren't appropriate around ladies.

It was decided that Chika would be considered the 'Little Brother' type, and that Satoshi would be the 'Playful' type. The new additions had certainly attracted a lot of attention.

When it came to opening time everyone took their positions around Tamaki's 'throne'. The doors opened, red rose petals fell, and we all sang together "Welcome!"

More girls had turned up than expected. A wave of them swarmed in, taking their seats at their respective host's area.

The twins entertained a duo of giggling girls with their forbidden brotherly love act, Tamaki charmed a group with stories about his past, and Satoshi was doing some kind of stand-up routine making many girls blush and laugh.

Kyoya was flogging off more Host club merchandise, including a few old copies of Honey and Mori that were selling like wild fire. Chika was telling his guests about the things he did as a child, and about Honey, and most of the girls were in awe of his hidden love for his brother.

I felt happy. The activities were distracting me from unwanted thoughts. I turned back to my three regulars, explaining how I planned to organize another beach trip in the near future.

Once hosting hours were over, and we had herded the remaining guests out the door asking them to visit us again, I collapsed back onto one of the sofas – a twin closely following on either side of me.

They slung their arms around my shoulders.

"So, today went pretty well, huh?" they said together.

I nodded. "Better than I hoped." I looked over and smiled at Satoshi and Chika. "You two were a hit. You'll be great hosts."

"Thanks, Fujioka! I had those girls wrapped around my finger! Easy!" Satoshi said, grinning widely. Chika smacked his back.

"That's not a very gentlemanly thing to say, Satoshi." He grumbled.

I blinked at them, before turning my attention to Kyoya. "How were the numbers?" I asked.

He gave me his best business smile. "Respectable. We also have a large request rate for Chika and Satoshi. I can only see profits going up from here, especially now that we don't need the extra sweets for Honey."

I suspected he'd be happy about that. I looked around, but didn't spot the mop of blonde hair I was looking for. "Where did Tamaki-senpai go?"

Hikaru groaned. "He left with the guests."

Kaoru nodded on the other side of me. "Something about having to meet Éclair in the school's library."

I shuffled restlessly. "She has him on a tight leash, huh?"

The twins pulled me in closely to them. "Don't worry Haruhi, you have all of us to keep you company." They said cheerfully into my ears.

I noticed Chika twitch out of one corner of my eye. When he spoke, his voice sounded gruff, like back in the restaurant.

"Would you two mind not getting too friendly with my girlfriend?" he stated more than asked, arms folded and eyebrow raised.

The twins pulled away slightly and blinked at me. I felt everyone else's shocked gazes linger between us, and to be honest, I think I felt just as surprised as they did.

"Girlfriend?" Kyoya said, quickly writing something in his notebook.

Chika nodded. "Indeed."

Satoshi patted his friend on the shoulder. "Way to go, buddy!"

I felt Hikaru's arms tense, and saw Kaoru sending him a warning look. It didn't matter though; I could tell Hikaru was on the edge of his emotions once again.

I quickly scrambled out of their embrace – it was time he got a good dose of reality.

"Hikaru, come with me for a minute, please?" I said, my voice sounding very maternal – a mother about to tell her child off for misbehaving.

He nodded slowly, and followed me out of the club room. I shut the door and leant back against it.

He ran one hand through his hair. "So you two are… a proper item then?"

I shrugged. "Apparently."

He focused his gaze on the floor, the walls, the ceiling, anywhere but on me. "He's a bit young for you, don't you think?"

I narrowed my eyebrows. "Hikaru, he's one year younger. Besides, I don't think age really matters. It's what's on the inside."

He linked his arms around the back of his neck. "Do you love him?"

I shook my head. "We've been out on one date. I can't exactly tell yet."

He sighed, agitated, obviously trying to think of what to say. "I… I don't want you to be with him." He said slowly.

I started to get angry. "What?"

"I don't want you to be involved with Chika. Or Kyoya. Or Tamaki, or anyone. Anyone except Kaoru and me! We're the only people you need, Haruhi!"

"You have no right to say something like that Hikaru! My life is none of your business! Really, why can't you just be happy for me?" I yelled back in his face.

He launched at me, cornering me between his two arms placed either side of my head. I'd done it. I'd pushed him too far.

His head was bowed, so I couldn't quite hear what he said. It was something along the lines of "So this is what you meant, Kaoru." But I ignored it.

"Haruhi, anything to do with you is my business."

"How am I your business?" I said childishly.

"Because I fucking love you!" He burst out.

I stood there, stunned.

"Okay, I love you. That's why I can't be happy for you. I love you, and I don't want you to be with anyone else."

Still, I said nothing.

I saw tears fall from his eyes, which had been hidden by his bangs.

"I'm sorry Hikaru…" I said slowly. "You're one of my best friends, but I don't love you in that way."

His hands dropped to his sides. He sniffled, rubbing at his eyes. "I expected that." He said calmly.

"I'm so sorry." I said, hugging him. I wasn't sure what to do.

He stood there stiffly, and eventually hugged me back. "Are you sure there's no way I can make you love me?" He asked hopelessly.

I shook my head against his chest. Hikaru sighed and let me go.

"In that case, I guess I have to be happy for you. But know this Haruhi. I'm never going to stop loving you." He said definitely, before walking past me and back into the club room.

I slumped to the floor, head in my hands.

I really didn't need this.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N; Hey guys. Sorry for not updating these past two days. But I've had major family problems going on and for once in my life I didn't feel like writing. So to make it up to you, here's the next chapter! Lots of hugs and cake, Jess xxx**

I sat there for a while, wiping at my eyes with the back of my sleeve. They stung, tears still latched on to the edges of my lashes. I cradled my legs, chin resting on my knees. This wasn't fair. The hosts couldn't throw my feelings around anymore – not again. Hikaru knows what a state I'm in. He can't just admit something like that to me now. All he's done is given me more problems to straighten out.

"BAKAS!" I heard a voice scream out from round the corner. I shot my head round, and sure enough, saw Renge yelling at two scared-looking first year girls.

"When you see someone crying, you don't take pictures of it, you go and see what the matter is. Gosh, this is just disrespectful to Haruhi! Apologise for staring at his cuteness!" She shrieked, pointing at me, her hair starting to look snake-like.

"Err, Renge?" I said, and her face instantly softened as she looked at me.

"Yes, Haruhi dear?" she said lovingly. The two girls backed away quickly from her.

"You really can't talk…" I said flatly.

Her smile sobered and her face crumpled up.

_Ah hell…_ I thought to myself. I stood up and walked over to her, placing one hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. I take the creepy staring as a compliment." I rushed out, trying to think of any way to stop her from crying. "It's really quite sweet."

She blinked at me for a second, before a gentle blush appeared on her cheeks. "Oh, Haruhi, that was absolutely KAWAII! I could just eat ten bowls of rice!" She gushed, twirling off down the hallway.

I sighed, and rubbed the back of my neck. At least I knew that she would never change.

The clubroom doors opened, and I saw Kaoru's head stick out. He grinned at me, walked out into the hall and shut the door behind him.

"What's up Kaoru?" I asked, shuffling over to him.

"You'd been out here for a while, so I came to make sure you were okay." He said, still beaming at me.

I laughed. "I don't know if I'd say that."

Kaoru regarded me for a minute. "So, Hikaru finally admitted it, huh?" he said awkwardly.

"How did you-" I started saying before he laughed.

"He yelled it pretty loud, Haruhi. Everyone heard. Chika's not too impressed to say the least."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "It's not that funny, Kaoru."

"No, but the way he was trying to strangle Hikaru was." He stopped laughing and started to stare at the floor. But from the look in his eyes, I'd say he was somewhere else.

"You turned him down, didn't you?"

"Yeah… I can't love him Kaoru. We're too close as it is, I wouldn't want anything to be ruined." I said.

He smiled at me again. "I understand. But can you do me a favour?"

I felt relieved for some reason. I guess, in a way, turning down Hikaru was the same as rejecting Kaoru. I was glad that he understood.

"Sure, anything."

"Can you forgive him? For putting you in this position, I mean?" he asked sheepishly.

This was one of the things I loved most about Kaoru. He cared so much for his brother, and wasn't afraid to show it. "I'll try my hardest."

He nodded, then reached his arm round me so it rested lightly on my shoulders. "Thanks. Now come on; let's go back in before the others get worried."

* * *

When I opened my eyes, I couldn't figure out why. My clock said it was midnight, so it wasn't morning. Then I heard it. _Knock. Knock._

Someone was at the door. Considering the time, I guessed it was my dad and that he'd forgotten his keys.

I exhaled, kicking off my covers and strolling out my bedroom to the front door. I turned the lock, twisted the handle:

"Dad, you need to remember your keys. I can't kee-"

I got cut off. "Haruhi…"

I blinked for a second, until my eyes adjusted to the darkness. And I saw Tamaki, standing at my door, in the middle of the night.

"_Tamaki-senpai?! _What the hell are you doing here? You do know what the time is right?" I whispered incredulously, as though not to wake up my neighbours.

"I'm so sorry. But I need to talk to you." He said embarrassedly.

I was about to turn him away, when my eyes caught on to the several suitcases he had behind him. I quickly changed my mind. "Sure, come in." I said quickly, picking up one of said cases.

Once his luggage was dumped in my room, we sat down on the futon.

"What's going on, senpai?" I asked, studying his face curiously.

"Me and Éclair had a little argument, so I'm giving her some space." He said calmly.

I saw his eyes dart quickly from left to right. That only happened when he was lying.

"What really happened?" I said demandingly.

He twitched slightly, before laughing under his breath. "You always could see through me, couldn't you?" He ran one hand through his hair. "I told Éclair that I wanted a divorce."

That caught me off guard and my breath. "And…?" I said, huskily.

"My grandmother entered the room while she was shouting at me about it."

I furrowed my eyebrows – I hated that woman for the things she'd said about my senpai. "Keep going…"

"I explained what I felt to my grandmother, and she threw me out of the manor. In other words, she disowned me from the Souh family." His voice broke.

I wasn't sure what to say, so instead I wrapped my arms around him. His shoulders started to shake, and I felt a wet patch grow on my shoulder.

"Come on, Tamaki. A gentleman should never cry in front of a lady." I said, jokingly, and he laughed.

"Did you just call me Tamaki?" he said, rubbing at his eyes.

I blushed. "Oh, I'm so sorry senpai!" I exclaimed, bowing respectfully.

He laughed again. "No, I like it. You don't have to be so formal all the time." He said, gripping my shoulder reassuringly.

I beamed at him, and he blinked at me. "What?" he said, cautiously.

"It's nothing. It's just for a minute there I saw my old senpai."


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N; this chapter is short, sorry :l Just to avoid some confusion, along with a mix of all pairings, this is mainly a ChikaHaru. But I've been side-tracking a bit. I'm trying to get across just how damaged Haruhi and the Club are in this story, and the Chika part will come in to it later, but for now I'm focussing on the other hosts one by one. I've done a bit of Kyoya, Tamaki, and Hikaru, so after Kaoru and Mori and Honey are sorted, we'll get back to the main pairing.**

"Hey senpai… are you still awake?" I whispered, peeking my head round the door into my apartment's small living area. We'd made a makeshift bed for him out of some spare sheets, a pillow, and a duvet.

I heard him grumble. "Yeah… just."

I let out a soft laugh. "Can I talk to you for a second? Something's bothering me." I said quietly, leaning back against the doorframe.

He sighed, then hauled himself up into an upright position. "Haruhi, this is sort of hypocritical. You said yourself that we should get our rest and we could talk in the morning." He complained, shading his eyes from the light out in the kitchenette.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Please?" I pleaded mockingly.

He gestured for me to come and sit down next to him. I sat cross-legged, wrapping one of the blankets around me for warmth. "So, why exactly did you want the divorce? From Éclair, I mean…" I said awkwardly.

Tamaki linked his arms around the back of his head and laid back down on the duvet. "Although I can't deny that I was attracted to her, there was never anything in her that really appealed to me. She was rude, inconsiderate, and childish. I was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt, until I found out about the lies she had been telling me – about my mother. I could never love a woman like that, and if there isn't any love, there isn't any hope for such a marriage."

I processed what he'd said in my head. "Y'know, we're not that different, Tamaki." I said, half in the conversation, half elsewhere.

He gave me a sideward look. "What do you mean?"

I shrugged, clutching the blanket tighter around me. "It's just that, from what you said, you care a lot more about what's inside than what's on the outside. We have the same ideals, I guess…" I said quietly, giving him a half-smile.

Tamaki shifted, and sat up further. He was wearing a loose V-neck shirt, with something written in French on the front. I thought for a minute about what the words said. And I didn't notice Tamaki's hands placed gently on my cheeks until our faces were extremely close to each other.

"S-senpai… What do you think you're doing?" I stuttered out.

He grinned at me. "You're right, Haruhi. We're very similar. We match perfectly… wouldn't you agree?" I mumbled out some random sounds which never made it to words, and he exhaled a laugh under his breath. "Do you want to know the main reason I wanted to leave Éclair, Haruhi?" he said warmly.

I nodded quickly. "The main reason, is because lately I realised just how much someone else meant to me."

My stomach clenched. I didn't like were this was going. I couldn't handle this...

"Haruhi, I only had to see your face after so long to know that I needed to see your beautiful brown eyes and awkward smile every day."

_Please, no. Don't do this to me, not you too Tamaki…_

"Haruhi, I love you…" he said almost inaudibly. And then I understood why he sounded uncertain. I'm not sure for how long, but at some point I had started crying.

I angry swatted at the tears. This couldn't happen to me again – I couldn't lose him again, I needed to keep my emotions under control.

"I… I'm sorry Tamaki. I don't… I don't feel the same way about you. I could never… risk losing you again…" I stumbled out between sobs.

I saw his face drop from nervous anticipation, to disappointment and pain. After two minutes or so of us sitting there, he nodded to himself. "I understand. But you need to know, I will never be leaving you again. I promise you that much." He said concernedly, tightly gripping onto my shoulders.

"T-thank you… senpai…"

* * *

I gripped at my hair, trying to tame the wildness a few hours of restless sleep had left me with. Regarding myself in the mirror, I decided I looked exactly how I felt: a wreck.

I buttoned up my blazer, walked out of the bathroom, and bumped straight into Tamaki.

"Oh, uh… sorry senpai!" I rushed, cursing the blush that crept it's way onto my cheeks.

He laughed, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Oh, it's my fault, don't worry." He paused, opening and closing his mouth for a second, as though he was debating with himself on what to say next.

"Haruhi… can you, uh… try to forget what happened last night? I'm not trying to be insensitive or anything. It's just that I think it would be better for our friendship and for the others if we pushed any feelings aside."

Unbelievable… First, he ruins me completely by leaving. Then, he tortures me by coming back. Then I get tormented by his feelings, and now he wants to erase it all.

I clicked my knuckles. I think it was time he knew the truth. "Sure, senpai. For our friendship…"

He smiled at me. "Thank yo-"

"But just so you know, I don't think the club will ever go back to the way it was before. Everything broke, and although I'm trying hard to place things back together, there are still some pretty big cracks in our foundations… because of you."

He stiffened. "I… understand that…" he said quietly. I rolled my eyes and shook my head at him, before shuffling out of the apartment.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N; Oh my goldfish… 100 reviews… 100 FRICKING REVIEWS. How did that happen, I can't even… I thought this story was complete trash, so I'm so glad some people like it :') I want to say a massive thank you to all of my reader/reviewers, especially symmetricalravenxx8, Like-for-like, mcangel1976, KUKAIxAMU, and MysticRoseDrop. I love you all :D **

**And to those who have been all over the place over the confessions, don't worry, there won't be anymore. But I had to include Hikaru's and Tamaki's feelings or else one of the main plots wouldn't have made any sense.**

**Warning: Worryingly possessive Chika and emotional Tamaki in this one. But yeah, enjoy the chapter guys!**

"Thanks! Come and visit us tomorrow!" I called down the hall to the last guests of the day. I shut the doors slowly and let out a long breath. Something in me said I didn't want to turn around.

Things hadn't been the same since Tamaki had shown up on my doorstep. That was a week ago, and in that time things had gone from mildly awkward to flat-out unbearable.

I'd felt kind of guilty about the way I handled his confession to me. The way he just announced it to me when I was so vulnerable, and then tried to cover up his feelings was uncalled for, but so was the harsh way I reacted to him. After all, he was in a difficult situation as well. So I attempted to continue Tamaki's 'let's stay friends' act for his sake.

Sure, we had been speaking. But the conversation was strained, as though he were forcing himself to talk. So I tried my hardest to avoid looking at him, avoid speaking to him, and avoid him in general, while pretending to still be his friend. And it wasn't working very well.

Tamaki had told me not to tell anyone about his impending divorce just yet, but Kyoya, as knowing as ever, had noticed our odd behaviour and pulled us aside to talk yesterday. He knew something was wrong, and although I stayed silent Tamaki had broken down to his best friend. Now Kyoya was demanding that he inform the other hosts.

Kyoya perched menacingly in Tamaki's throne, a twin on chairs either side of him. Mori and Honey stood behind them; exchanging looks that said more than words (Kyoya invited them, which was only right in a way). Satoshi was splayed out on one of the sofas towards the back of the room, asleep, whereas Chika was standing defensively by my side.

I looked up at Tamaki. His face was pale with nerves. I reached up and tugged on his shoulder so his head was closer to my level. I quickly and sharply whispered in his ear:

"Tamaki-senpai, they're your friends. They'll understand why you want a divorce; in fact I'm pretty sure they'll be thrilled. Just hurry up and get this done with, okay?"

He blinked at me for a second, then his shoulders relaxed a little and he smiled. "I guess you're right." He turned to the expectant faces. "This news may, as Haruhi just told me, make you happy. One part may anger you, but please don't over-react."

I sent him a confused look, until it dawned on me. He was going to tell them about being disowned. My wide-eyed stare turned to Kyoya.

Kyoya had told me about how the foundation of the club was each member's usefulness to the others. He'd even said that the only reason he cared for Tamaki was because he was a Souh. This was really going to test their friendship.

"I intend on getting a divorce from Éclair." Tamaki said slowly. I saw Honey's eyes widen, the twins grin ever so slightly, and Kyoya's eyes flashed with the good news.

"However, in doing so I'm being forced out of the Souh family." He said shakily. On impulse I reached out and gripped his wrist, giving him a stern yet reassuring look. Tamaki nodded at me, and I let go.

The twins approached him first, placing a hand on each shoulder.

"That sucks tono." Hikaru said, wincing.

"Yeah, but don't worry, we're here for you." Kaoru added, beaming.

Honey bounded over and launched for Tamaki's waist, encircling him in a sickeningly cute hug. "Tama-chan! We'll help you out in any way we can! Right, Takashi?" he said, sending a look to his cousin. Mori grunted in affirmation, placing a hand on Tamaki's head.

Tamaki's eyes glossed over. "Thank you so much. Even after all I've done, you really still care about me… thank you." He said, his voice husky and choked.

Something inside me wrenched when I realised Kyoya hadn't said anything. I looked over at him, non-moving from the chair, glare reflecting off his glasses and partially covering his expression.

"Kyoya-senpai…" I said quietly, causing everyone else's stares to turn to him.

Kyoya sighed, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose. He crossed his legs. "You've really been completely abandoned?" he asked inquisitively. Tamaki nodded. "You have no access to any of the Souh's resources?" he asked, and again Tamaki nodded. Kyoya sat there quietly for several minutes, and the tension in the room immediately increased.

"Well, in that case, I'm sure I can get one of the better Otori lawyers to assist you." He said dismissively.

A wave of relief washed over me, and Tamaki's smile showed itself again.

"Thank you, mummy dearest." He said sheepishly.

Kyoya smirked. "You're welcome, daddy."

* * *

I finished clearing away the last of the tea sets. The hosts had all gone home, Tamaki leaving to stay with Kyoya. That left me to clear up as per usual. I wiped at the tables to get rid of the remaining crumbs.

"Can I offer you a lift home?" Chika asked me, his arms wrapping around my waist.

I jumped slightly. "Jeez, Chika, don't creep up on people like that." I scolded him, but he simply grinned.

My heart pounded in my chest, and I was pretty sure it was because he'd scared me. But then again he was standing insanely close to me. I'd been used to close contact because of the twins and Tamaki, but this was different.

He must've noticed me tense because he released his grip on my waist. Instantly I felt colder. "And yeah, just give me a minute to finish wiping off the tables." I replied quickly. He nodded, and I went around the room finishing my duty.

Ten minutes later, we were sitting in the back of his limo, his hand resting on mine.

I stared blankly out of the window. Winter was settling in, so even though it was only 5, the sky was pitch black aside from the glowing street lamps.

I felt Chika's hand squeeze mine and I turned to look at him.

"Haruhi, why is Tamaki getting this divorce?" he asked flatly.

His question surprised me. "He told me that she was a terrible person and that he didn't love her." I stated simply, carefully tip-toeing around the full truth.

Chika furrowed his eyebrows. "I already knew that. Now what aren't you telling me?"

My chest gripped. He'd seen through me. "I… I'm not hiding anything from you…" I said warily, but he sent me an incredulous look.

I knew I couldn't lie to him. "He told me he loved me."

Chika's face turned paler, and I saw anger sparkle in the corners of his eyes. "And what did you say…" he asked, his voice tainted with that same gruffness from the restaurant.

"I said I couldn't love him in that way." I said with what I hoped was an air of finality.

"Haruhi, do you have romantic feelings for me?" Chika gushed, holding on even tighter to my hand. I focussed on his face, squinting through the darkness, and saw that his eyes had glazed over.

I laced my fingers through his. "Of course I do."

He didn't say anything for a second. Then I saw his shoulders drop slightly. "So I don't need to see Tamaki as a threat?"

I snorted. "Definitely not. There is no way me and him will ever be an item, you don't have to worry."

Chika grinned, and kissed the back of my hand. "Good. Because I plan on keeping you, and I'd hate to have to get rid of anyone that stood in the way of me doing so." He said possessively.

I smiled back at him. Although I knew Chika was being utterly serious about the last thing he said, I didn't feel scared or intimidated. I was happy with him.

This was working. Things were getting better.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N; Hey guys! As promised, the next chapter. I was hoping to bring more of the comedy factor into this chappy. It should make a nice change. Even though Éclair is still a total jackass in it… But of a shock for you Kaoru fans. Enjoy!**

I tapped my pen against the desk. Staring at the clock on the wall, everything seemed to be going slower than usual. I needed this lesson to be finished, for this day to be over. I'd had a migraine since I'd woken up and the constant chatter going on wasn't doing me any favours.

_5, 4, 3, 2…_

_RING._

The school bell rang out over the intercom, and everyone got up to pack their things away.

"Okay everyone, please remember that your Latin translations are due in on Monday." Sensei exclaimed over the noise. I shoved away all my notes in my bag and was about to leave, when he called over to me. "Ah, Fujioka! Could you stay behind for a minute please?"

I sighed, cursing how close my feet were to the door. I waddled over to his desk, but he didn't say anything until all the students had left.

"Now, Fujioka, I have some concerns over your grades from the last few pieces of work you've handed in." Sensei said concernedly.

I rolled my eyes. "I haven't noticed any problems, sir."

"Haruhi, you're grades have fallen from an A* average to a C-." he stated emotionlessly.

My breath caught. "… Th-that has to be a mistake."

"I'm afraid not. At this rate you will not be allowed to continue attending school here on the scholarship program."

I ran one hand through my hair. "How the hell could this have happened? My work's been of the same quality as always, I don't see…"

He readjusted his glasses. "I'm afraid it has nothing to do with your work as such. I've looked over it and it seems flawless. However, the Chairman specifically asked for it to be marked by a more experienced teacher, and these were the results that came back."

"Sir, that makes absolutely no sense. Why would Souh ask for that?" I said, gritting my teeth.

"I'm sorry Fujioka. If you have an issue, you will need to take it up with the Chairman. You can go now."

I tightened my grip on the briefcase handle, bowed respectfully to my sensei, and quickly left the classroom. I shut the door behind me quietly, and started off down the corridor.

"My, Fujioka. Someone's in a spot of trouble I see."

I froze in my path, eyes widening. I turned slowly, to see Éclair's smug grin loitering at the door. I'm not sure how I didn't notice her.

"It's such a shame. At this rate you'll be thrown out of Ouran. How tragic." She said, adding mock emphasis on the 'tragic'.

My blood started to boil. "This really has nothing to do with you, Tonnerre."

"Souh!" she sneered at me. "Éclair _Souh._"

"Yeah, well not for long." I muttered childishly.

"And actually dear Fujioka, it has everything to do with me."

I blinked at her.

"…What."

"Oh, nothing… I just had a word with my father-in-law, that's all."

I clenched my fists together. "You son of a bitch…"

"Technically that insult doesn't work for me. I was a girl last time I checked." she leered.

"No I think it works just fine for you. What the actual _hell _Éclair? You think ruining my life is going to get you anywhere?"

She snorted. "This is your retribution Haruhi. For ruining my beautiful relationship with Tamaki!"

"You really have gone off the deep end, haven't you?" I said disbelievingly. Who did this girl think she was?

"Did you just call me crazy?" she asked, her voice suddenly cold.

I shrugged. "I guess you could come to that conclusion."

Éclair slowly started to pace towards me. "Don't you dare speak to me in such a manner. You are nothing but a commoner. You have absolutely no right to say such things to me."

I don't know why, but I started to laugh. But that quickly changed when I felt a cold, well-manicured hand swipe across my face. I clasped my now-throbbing red cheek and a wave of pain shot through me. I gulped back an urge to scream.

"As I was saying. This is your retribution. You must pay for your crime, and I thought the best way of doing that would be to ruin your education." Éclair stated, almost triumphantly.

"God. I knew you were a bitch, but that's just a bit much."

I looked up and over Éclair's shoulder to see Kaoru standing there, arms crossed and shaking his head. The French girl turned to face him.

"What did you hear?" she asked solemnly.

He raised his hands in mock surrender. "Enough." Kaoru's eyes wondered over to me, and I saw them lock on to my cheek.

"Haruhi… what happened to your face?"

I raised my other arm and pointed a slender finger at Éclair. "She knows."

His face turned stoic. "You hurt Haruhi, again?" he asked her incredulously.

Éclair laughed. "No need to be so melodramatic. It was an acci-"

She never got the chance to finish, as Kaoru swung his arm round and knocked her straight up-side the head. She fell to the ground with a very audible thud.

My breath caught at what happened before me. Kaoru wasn't violent – he barely ever raised his voice.

"Don't you ever – _ever – _come near Haruhi again. If you hurt her one more time so help me I will hunt you down and rip out your pretty little hair extensions. Now get out of here, just looking at you makes me sick." He exclaimed, his clenched fists shaking at his sides.

Éclair shakily got to her feet and straightened out her uniform. I noticed that her nose was bleeding. She turned on her heel and walked past me down the corridor, making no effort to hide the hatred on her face.

I turned my attention over to Kaoru, and walked slowly towards him. He looked like he would explode again at any minute. I lightly placed one hand on his shoulder, and his whole body was shivering. Something wet dropped onto my skin, and I realized he was crying.

"I'm sorry… I've just made things worse, haven't I?" he whispered.

I wrapped my arms around his waist and let him cry onto my shoulder. "You're an idiot Kaoru." I tightened my grip on the back of his blazer. "But thank you."


	14. UPDATE: A little competition

Well, what do you know, the world didn't end after all…. DUH.

PROCRASTINATION!

Yes, I have been procrastinating these past few days on writing, mostly because I have a huge writer's block when it comes to ideas at the moment. And then… EPIPHANY :D I am going to use you guys to get over my block :3 So, what do you want to happen in Haruhi's Apocalypse. I want your input, people. Give me DRAMA. The person who gives me the best idea gets an OC inspired by them in my latest series 'Apples'! So get to it, my fabulous r&r-ers.

Secondly, due to all the really bad timing of bad things that have happened in December, I'm not doing Twelve Days of Christmas ( if that wasn't obvious ¬_¬ ). Instead, I'm saving it for next year :3

Finally, I aim to complete all of my current stories by February 2013, so I need some requests for new stories people! I am openly taking requests for the following:

Bleach

Code Geass

Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji)

Fullmetal Alchemist

Ouran High School Host Club ( obviously… )

Pandora Hearts

Fate/Stay Night

Vampire Knight

AANNNNNDDEH One Piece.

So, if you have a special requesteh, just send me a pm. If I choose to use your idea, you'll have special mention in every chapter for your cleverness….

Okay, that's pretty much it. Love you all or whatever.

Me xxx


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N; Yep, I know it's been a while. But I have reasons. Firstly, I spent at least a week finishing the plots for my current stories and writing down ideas for future ones. Then I thought it was probably best to start writing, but I got a little distracted with revision. I had exams all last week and still have them most of next week too. So, anyway, I'll try to get back into my normal writing routine for you all, updating at least 2 times a week… starting next week. Moving on, I'll be announcing the winner of my little competition next week. I got a lot of great ideas via reviews and pm's and whatnot, and I sought of combined a few. So the winner was the person whose idea I used most… It makes sense in my brain anyway. On with the chapter…**

"Doesn't this seem all a bit… illegal?" Satoshi asked, cocking his head on one side.

I sighed, and collapsed further back onto the sofa. "I can see what you mean. Unfortunately, it's not." I said, shaking my head.

"Dude. She bribed the chairman guy into changing your grades, sounds pretty bad to me." He replied, shrugging his shoulders.

Chika grumbled something under his breath before slapping his cousin on the back. "You're such an idiot, weren't you paying attention? Éclair never physically bribed him; he made the decision to have Haruhi's work marked at a much higher standard on his own."

Tamaki shifted slightly in his seat next to me, only just enough for me to notice. I sent him a questioning look, and he only smiled nervously in response.

"What's up with you, senpai? You've been acting shifty all day…" I asked, causing the 4 other people present to turn their heads towards our blonde haired friend.

He laughed slightly, and waved his hand about. "It's nothing really!"

The twins scoffed in unison.

"Please, tono -" Hikaru said, holding one hand up to stop him.

"- you aren't the best liar, you know." Kaoru finished, shrugging his shoulders.

Tamaki sent them a glare as if to tell them to keep quiet. I moved from my seat next to Chika and went to stand in front of Tamaki. I placed my hands on my hips, and spoke with what I hoped was a stern voice.

"Senpai, if you know something about this, you have to tell me."

For a moment he looked guilty, but quickly turned his head away, bottom lip stuck out in a pout. I breathed out. I really couldn't be bothered with all of his antics right now – I had things that needed to be done.

"Please tell me?" I asked, hating how my voice sounded slightly weak – as though I'd given up.

Tamaki's blue eyes turned to face me, and he blinked for a moment. "Haruhi…" He ran one hand through his hair. "I don't know anything about the grades, but I may know why he did this."

"Keep going…" I said, returning to my place in the circle of sofas, Chika slinging an arm around me.

Tamaki sat there for a second, presumably contemplating what to say. "Well… My father has always been extremely concerned with image. When I requested a divorce from Éclair, you can imagine that she wasn't too pleased. She threatened to trash my family's reputation; I know that much from our argument. My father probably made a deal with her to keep quiet about this whole ordeal. You can guess what her terms were…"

My head started to hurt. "Makes sense, I guess…"

Satoshi groaned. "There's gotta somethin' we can do 'bout this… maybe we could talk to Tamaki's old man, and see if we can come to an agreement, or somethin'…"

Hikaru and Kaoru nodded. "We've got to do something." They said, faces more serious than normal.

The group started to mumble amongst themselves, and I just sat there for a while. It was sweet that they wanted to help, but this was something I had to do.

"You guys… I appreciate everything you've done for me so far, but it's time I stood on my own. This is my problem, I'll deal with it myself."

I saw Chika move to protest, when the door opened, Kyoya strolling in.

"That's just typical, Haruhi." He said exhaustedly. "When are you going to wake up and realise that no matter what the problem is, you can't get us to leave you alone to your own devices?" Kyoya asked, sending a look at me over the top of his glasses.

"He's right, Haru." Kaoru said in agreement.

"We are a family after all." His brother added.

I sighed, but smiled nonetheless. I was sort of relieved that they wouldn't back down. "Okay, you guys. If you insist… I guess… the first thing we need to sort out is how I'm going to stay here at school."

"Mm.. how do you mean?" Satoshi asked, scratching the side of his head.

"Well, if the Chairman and Éclair's little deal keeps going, I can't stay in the scholarship programme anymore… So I need to find a way to stay in the school."

"Well that's easy, why not just pay for tuition?" Hikaru explained, a bored tone in his voice.

"Baka, Haruhi's just a commoner, remember?" Tamaki whispered angrily behind his hand to the red-haired twin, probably trying to spare my feelings.

"I can still hear you, senpai." I strained, trying to keep my anger in check.

He looked shocked for a second before grinning awkwardly, and rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry, daughter dear."

I ran one hand through my hair. "Honestly…"

"Actually, Hikaru may have a point…" Kyoya said, a thoughtful look on his face.

"Hmm?"

He reached for his notebook and flicked through several pages. "A standard tuition for a second-year student is 60,000 yen a month."

I felt my face pale. "Just a bit out of my price range, wouldn't you agree?"

"60,000… split between six people… 10,000 yen a piece. For the 8 months left of this year, that's 80,000 yen from each of us. Everyone agree with that?" Kyoya asked, directing looks at the five other boys around me. They each nodded or mumbled agreements.

I waved my faces in defence. "Hang on you guys. You aren't seriously going to pay 40,000 yen each just for me, right?"

"Come on, Haruhi. That's just loose change to us, it's no problem at all." Hikaru said dismissively.

"I can't accept this from you." I stated firmly.

I felt Chika lace his fingers through mine. "I'm afraid it's not up for discussion. Sorry Haruhi, but we're paying whether you like it or not." He smiled at me, and I felt the tense feeling in my shoulders soften.

"If you really insist…"

"It's settled then." Kyoya said, flashing everyone his classic business smile.

I sighed once again, a part of me knowing I'd regret excepting money from Kyoya. Knowing him, I'll probably be paying this back with interest.


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **

**Sister: Hey.**

**Me: *Tumblring* **

**Sister: You haven't updated FanFiction in a while.**

**Me: Uh…**

**Sister: *Casually raises eyebrow.***

**Me: …**

**Her: …**

**Me: ….SHIT.**

**Well hello there. If any of you have stuck with me on this story (and put up with my awful update gaps), then you are a MOTHER-FUDGING SAINT. **_**IloveyouIloveyouIloveyouIlov eyouIloveyou. **_**And I'm sorry. So very, very sorry. You're all beautiful people. I'm serious. Take a moment to appreciate how wonderful you are.**

**Anyway, time for a happy chappy, don't you think? Slight Haruhi-OOCness, but I think it's an okay OOC moment… Meh, I leave the criticism to you. Hopefully the sort-of ChikaHaru fluff will brighten your day. (I'm kinda hoping I've turned a few of you into ChikaHaru shippers… Have I?)**

I woke up on Sunday morning with a huge grin smacked on my face. For once, I felt completely happy, and it made a nice (and welcomed) change.

I scrambled out from under my covers, and opened up my closet, pulling out a clean pair of jogging bottoms and an old grey tank top. I changed quickly, before catching a glimpse of myself in the mirror. There weren't any bags under my eyes, like there had been for weeks before.

Huh.

Running my hands through my hair, I made my way into the kitchen. I poured myself some coffee, being careful to leave just enough for dad. I flicked the switch on the radio, smiling when I recognised one of my favourite songs.

I downed the coffee, placed the cup in the sink, and turned the volume up high. Even though I lack in a sense of rhythm, and I'm about as co-ordinated as a squirrel on steroids, I didn't particularly care today. I swung my hips, spun in circles, and prayed that I wouldn't crash into the furniture.

My guess would be that I was mid-head-banging when the front door opened. I looked up between my bangs to see Chika, half-collapsed against the door frame, clutching his sides as he laughed.

"Graceful." He choked out, wiping tears from his eyes.

I stuck out my bottom lip. "Thanks for ruining the mood." I said, with mock-annoyance.

He grinned, and closed the door behind him. Reaching forward, Chika grabbed my hand, and twirled me around the tiny kitchenette.

We must have been dancing for a good few minutes, because the song changed into something I didn't recognise. I turned the volume back down, and leaned against the sink, trying to catch my breath.

Chika rested against the wall opposite, hands in his pockets, looking like such a guy that it almost made me laugh.

"So, what are you doing here?" I asked, "Do you want some tea?"

He nodded briefly. "Yeah, thanks. And I came to see my girlfriend." Chika stated. I felt heat flash across my cheeks. _Girlfriend…_ I still wasn't quite used to that word yet.

I turned round, and rummaged through the cupboards for a decent mug. I reached for the kettle, but stopped short as two foreign arms wrapped around my waist. Chika rested his chin on my shoulder, and I matched his smirk.

"Perfect." He mumbled. I laughed lightly, the proceeded to finish his tea. Three sugars, low-fat milk, not too hot.

Chika detached himself from me, and accepted the mug. We stood in silence for a few seconds, unmoving, until he leaned down and gave me a quick, chaste kiss.

"Thanks, beautiful."

I nearly fell over.

I shook my head vigorously, hoping that I could shake off the furious blush that painted my cheeks, ears, and neck. My palms started to grow sweaty. He just… we did… I can't…

And then my dad cleared his throat. Impossibly, I felt my blush deepen. A terrible sense of deja vu washed over me as I remembered the incident with Tamaki. He'd fallen on top of me as my dad walked in, and had been thrown against the wall.

Chika had kissed me – _kissed me _ – in front of my father. I got the feeling that I should call an ambulance in advance.

I cowered away slightly, prepared for the worst, when my dad started laughing.

"Haruhi~~~!" Ranka exclaimed, as he hugged me tightly and whirled me round. "Daddy's so HAPPY!" He exclaimed, tightening his grip.

"You're gonna kill me!" I gasped, struggling to breath. Ranka blinked down at me, before releasing me from his death-grip. I paused for a second, studying my dad's face. "That wasn't the reaction I was expecting." I said cautiously.

Ranka pouted. "Why shouldn't a father be happy when his daughter turns all grown-up?" he said rhetorically, an eerie smile on his face. He turned to Chika, and clamped a hand down on his shoulder. Ranka dug his fingers in, and I felt unease bubble in my stomach. "Besides," he continued, "If the lovely Chika hurts you now, he knows he'll have hell to pay. Right, son?"

I saw a shiver run down Chika's spine. "R-right, sir…"

Rolling my eyes, I threaded my arm through Chika's and tugged him into my room. "Your dad can be pretty scary…" he muttered after I slid the door closed.

I laughed. "Never underestimate a single father." Chika only smiled as a reply.

I sunk back against the nearest wall, sitting cross-legged, and patted the spot next to me. Chika sat down, carefully placing the mug on the floor. He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, and I leant into him, trying hard to suppress the blush forming on my cheeks.

"Do you want to just… stay like this today?" he mumbled, playing with a few strands of my hair. I nodded, settling in to his side.

"I'm cool with that." I mumbled back, feeling warmth build up inside me as a smile played across my lips.

**A/N; It's short and cheesy, I know. But don't worry, I'll be getting down to the nitty gritty in the next chapter to make up for it. Hmm… not long until the end now… I'm getting all emotional. **

**FOR THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST! Bout time, right? Drum roll pleeeease~~: Plain-Jane001! Now, this isn't a spoiler for you all. I'm not using her idea entirely – just picking at it :3 Moulding around it, if you will. Anyway, thanks for everyone's contributions! I love you all.**


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